It is my great honor to co-host this photographic exhibition with my dear colleague, Ambassador Gary Quinlan, Permanent Representative of Australia to celebrate the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to those who make this exhibition possible including UN Mine Action Team and Photographer Marco Grob whose work has also been displayed at the 11th Meeting of the States Parties to the Ottawa Convention in Phnom Penh last year as well as Mr. Giovanni Diffident who has been kind enough to contribute his photographs of landmine victims in Libya.

As you may see, this exhibition is a meaningful tool to capture the attention of the world to landmines issues and make the voice of the landmines victims heard. The shots revealed their scars, their fears, and their situation living in and around the impact zone. These images also show vividly the costs of mines and explosive remnants of war long after the conflict end. Although they are manufactured at very low cost, they are extremely expensive to remove and indiscriminately dismember and maim innocent civilians generations after.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,The Royal Government of Cambodia attaches great importance to demining and assisting the mine victims, and so far Cambodia has made a lot of progress in destroying stockpile of anti-personnel mines, clearing mines areas and assisting mines victims. Cambodia is not only exerting its effort to address the mines issues in its own territory, but has also dispatched its demining troops to Sudan, Chad and Lebanon to participate in the UN peace-keeping missions.

By committing to the mine ban movement, Cambodia has assumed since 2011 the presidency of the 11th Meeting of the States Parties to the Ottawa Convention. With that Meeting, the Mine Ban Treaty was returning to a place where it all started 20 years ago from human tragedy and suffering of the victims in Cambodia and in other similar regions in Mozambique, Angola, Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina where the commitment to put an end to these inhumane and deadly weapons was born.

We highly commend the firm solidarity among all States Parties to the Convention, all concerned international and non-governmental organizations and others stakeholders, who have collectively worked towards our noble cause for A Mine-Free World.

The ongoing success in mine clearance depends on both the effort of the governments and the support of their partner. We would like to take this solemn opportunity to express our profound gratitude to donors, NGOs, civil societies, agencies and other institutions for their valuable support and contribution. These efforts bring to mind a message by Mr. Secretary General of the United Nations of his fervent hope “that the world will one day be free from the threats by land mines and explosive remnants of war.” Together we can make a difference. We must join hands and work together for a mine-free future.